Looking for input on new duck boat!!!!

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Dave Cular

New member
I am a boat builder located in central New Jersey. I have built several boats in the past, but mostly fishing boats. A friend of mine, who is an avid duck hunter and has seen what I can do, got me interested in producing duck boats. I am and avid deer hunter and fisherman, so I know the importance of having the right equipment for the job! The boat I'm going to start with will be about 14', all fiberglass with some foam coring in things such as bulkheads. I would greatly appreciate any input you all could give as to what you would like to see built into your "ideal" duck boat. If you could have anything at all that would make your trip more enjoyable (and please lets keep this strictly related to duck hunting) , more successful, and create less of a hassle, built into the boat, what would it be? I'm just in the planning stages now and would be open to all suggestions.
Thank you,
Dave Cular
Beaver Dam Boats
 
Different guys want different boats for different situations. Where we hunt we all need flat bottom, extreme shallow draft boats, anyone that crosses or hunts big water needs a V bottom. I want a low profile boat easily hid, northern hunters seem to want bigger boats with high gunwales. One thing I think most anyone wants in their hunting boat, no matter what kind you decide to produce is reliably dry storage. I mean a compartment in there where you know whatever goes in it will NEVER get wet. Also, another nice feature I built into my boat, a big improvement over other boats I've hunted from, is a ventilated dry box for the battery. In the past we were plagued by constant battery terminal corrosion issues, but no more. One other nice, high end feature would be to have shark eye bow navigation lights. They look cool, they are permanently connected, they are out of the way.

Ed.
 
I would recommend that you build what YOU & some friends like and have tested. It's like buying art........buy what YOU like and you'll never be STUCK with it. You can use it and it's easier to sell.

Like Dave said......set some money aside for the project. I put $25,000 into the plug, molds and testing when we redesigned our Brant II-X. It's not a cheap undertaking if you're going to do it right.
Also.....be original......don't scam/copy somebody elses designs. That's been done too much and that reputation will follow you and interfer with your business.

Be original and work at being BEST.
Good luck.
Lou Tisch
www.lockstockbarrell.com
 
Dave,

Here is my 2 cents...

Right now there is a pretty broad spectrum of boats that meet the needs of most hunters. There are already boats that cover the whole spectrum (folks like Ira, Lou, Dave, Mark and others here manufacture some of the best ones available).

A dimension you could persue is to produce something that competes with an existing niche and compete on some product differentiator - make it cheaper, safer, more versatile, you name it. Make a v-hull like the Alaskan for half the price with all the same quality, make a layout that weighs 60 lbs and comes with a free tow harness, make a marsh boat that is is inexpensive as the kara but as safe and effective as the momarsh DP, make a bay boat that doesn't turtle like the carolina skiff, something like that.

Frankly, I think you have a bit of an uphill battle unless you can differentiate your product and satisfy an unmet want or need.

Who specifically is your target market? As some others have pointed out, duck hunters are a diverse lot. You won't catch me out on the broad lake in the north country here with a pirogue - and I doubt someone in the grass filled shallows of florida wants a 20' high sided v-hull.

Are you looking to provide a mass produced product, a mass customized product or a custom product?

Want a mass customizable product idea? How about this - sell a lightweight composite shell that can be used to convert a common v-hull into a TDB style covered boat blind. Make it removable for the off season with clamps like a hard tonneau cover. Make the mold design flexible so it can be customized to the specific shape of the owner's boat. Think out of the box like Southwest Airlines - compete against someone other than boat makers - for example: make the price compete with the high end pop up blinds on the market.

Want another - create a camoflage shrink wrap product that can be used to quickly camoflage a fishing boat, with no adhesive, provide various camoflages, and also a paintable model that can be used for do-it-yourselfers - and on top of that make it cheap enough that replacing it is not a major investment. (think of winter boat wrap with a flat camoflage surface)

I'd be glad to test your prototypes on my lund...

Charlie
 
You got to remember when someone buys any boat the first thing they are going to do is modify it to there needs. So there is no such thing as the perfect duck boat. I have 2 sneak boxes 2 sculls, a layout and marsh boat. Every year I look into ways to modify them. Designing a boat to do it all is an almost imposable. That is why I have so many! hehehe! Like Dave and Lou said, make it an original design. The hunter will always change it in the long run.

Mike
 
Thank you all very much for your input so far! It has been very helpful and is starting to point me in the direction I want to be. I realize one boat can't do it all, but for now I'm just trying to get a mental picture of what my boat should be. I'm starting out small, as this will be my first venture on my own, so one boat is all I can do right now. But once I see how that takes off I will be looking into larger, smaller, and an otherwise broader range of boats. For now I'm just trying to get off the ground. My boats will be semi-custom and made to order, so that will allow me the flexibility to change minor things as the customer requests. My ultimate goal is to produce a boat that is in fact an original and is in no way a copy of someone else's design, which is why I have reached out to all of you to gather as many independent ideas as possible! This will definitely be a long, up hill struggle, but hopefully someday I will be able to supply a high quality product that will meet or exceed the rugged demands of most duck hunters and fall within the ranks of some of you here on duckboats.net! Thank you again everyone for all of your input!

Dave Cular
Beaver Dam Boats
 
How about pics of what you already have, if only the plug! Let's get a idea of what you are up to?
 
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